JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya plans to start drilling two horizontal wells in 2023, the company’s CEO Oleh Tolmachov said.
“We will start drilling the first two wells this year. We will see the results in 2024. We are working on the technological design of such wells,” he said in an interview with NV.
According to him, horizontal drilling will require additional pumps and other specific points, as well as the import of certain technological solutions. “But 85-90% of the equipment that will be used in this process is already in operation at Ukrgasvydobuvannya,” Tolmachov said.
The UGV CEO estimates the cost of drilling a vertical well with a depth of 4000 meters at about $5 million, while a horizontal well costs more than $25 million.
“But the latter allow us to get high gas flow rates even from tight reservoirs. Ukraine is now in the same situation as the US and Canada were in the late 90s. Our fields are depleted by more than 80%. That’s why we have to drill such unconventional wells, which are more expensive and technologically more complicated. But they produce much more gas,” he said.
Tolmachev believes that investing in gas production in Ukraine is an attractive story, as the price of gas in Europe is 5-6 times higher than in the United States.
“At the same time, Ukrainian projects are similar to those that investors in the United States, Canada, and Saudi Arabia work with. But in terms of economic indicators, they should look much stronger here. So I think foreign partners will be interested in joining Ukrainian gas production,” he said.
According to him, the company has signed protocols of intent with two North American companies, with whom consultations will be held on how to adapt American technologies to Ukrainian realities and technical issues.
“We are also working to gain access to various grants and funds in the US and EU that they allocate for Ukraine. The goal is to present a ready-made story, a financial model with a clear mechanism for field development immediately after the victory, so that foreign companies can invest in Ukrainian gas production,” Tolmachov explained.
As reported, Ukrgasvydobuvannya aims to increase its own natural gas production by one billion cubic meters in 2023 – up to 13.5 billion cubic meters.
“In 2022, Ukrgasvydobuvannya, 100% owned by Naftogaz of Ukraine, produced 12.5 bcm of natural gas (commercial), which is 3% less than in 2021. In 2023, the company plans to increase drilling by 1.5 times compared to last year – up to 300 thousand meters.
The global art market will grow 3% in 2022, according to the annual Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report. Last year, art sales totaled $67.8 billion, surpassing the pre-pandemic 2019 figure ($64.4 billion) and coming close to the 2014 record level ($68.2 billion).
Sales in open trades fell 1% to $26.8 billion, including due to the cancellation of a number of auctions in China. In the dealer business, the figure rose 7% to $37.2 billion, thanks in particular to fairs, whose share of sales rose to 35% from 27% a year earlier.
Once again, the U.S. led the way in regional sales (45%), followed by the U.K. (18%) and China (17%).
MarketWatch’s Claire McAndrew pointed to “a big positive factor in the U.S. and a big negative factor in China,” which generally offset each other. The U.S. art market is recovering from a significant decline during the pandemic coronavirus and in 2022 renewed its high, increasing by 8% – to $ 30.2 billion.
Prime Minister Denis Shmygal discussed with Robert Gabek, Vice Chancellor, Minister of Economy and Climate Protection of Germany and representatives of German companies the necessary mechanisms to expand production and presence at the Ukrainian market.
“First of all, we are talking about the insurance of military risks for business, which will help to activate economic activity in Ukraine. We already have a pilot project with MIGA and the first projects with the American company DFC. We are working on finding a similar instrument with Germany, “- wrote Shmygal in his Telegram-channel.
Prime Minister stressed that Ukraine has potential in the areas of critical raw materials, processing and military-tech, which can bring many advantages and prospects for business.
“We also count on the support, the participation of Germany and German companies in the post-war reconstruction of our state,” summed up Shmygal.
The U.S. dollar is strengthening against the euro, yen and pound sterling in trading on Tuesday on expectations that an unexpected decision by several OPEC+ states to cut production will prolong a period of high inflation in the world and delay the end of the cycle of monetary tightening by global central banks.
Such a decision could make it “a little more difficult” for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to deal with high inflation, said James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) of St. Louis.
“This decision by oil-producing countries was unexpected, but whether it will have long-term consequences is an open question,” Bullard said in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday. – Oil prices fluctuate all the time, and it’s hard to track them accurately. Their rise will affect the rate of inflation and make our job a little more difficult.”
According to Bullard, the Fed’s benchmark interest rate, currently at 4.75-5%, should be raised to 5.5-5.75%.
The ICE-calculated index, which shows the dollar’s performance against six currencies (euro, Swiss franc, yen, Canadian dollar, pound sterling and Swedish krona), added 0.11% during Tuesday’s trading, while the broader WSJ Dollar Index added 0.15%.
The euro/dollar pair is trading at $1.0893 as of 9:20 a.m., up from $1.0905 at Monday’s market close.
The pound/dollar exchange rate is at $1.2407, compared to $1.2417 the day before.
The value of the U.S. currency in a pair with the yen increased to 132.76 yen against 132.42 yen at the end of the previous session.
The Australian dollar weakened to $0.6755 from $0.6786 a day earlier following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to halt the key interest rate hike.
The RBA kept Tuesday’s rate at 3.6 percent a year, its lowest since May 2012. The rate has been cumulatively raised by 350 bps since last May.
RBA governor Philip Lowe, however, warned that the central bank is ready to resume raising the rate if necessary.
“The RBA Board of Governors believes that further monetary policy tightening may be necessary to return inflation to the central bank’s target,” Lowe said in a statement posted on the RBA website. – Today’s decision to maintain the same rate level gives us time to assess the health of the economy and its prospects amid serious uncertainty.”
U.S. car sales in the first quarter increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year, MarketWatch wrote.
In January-March 2023, automakers sold 3.59 million cars compared to 3.34 million cars a year earlier.
General Motors sales were up 17.6%, Nissan sales were up 17.3%, Honda Motor Co. sales were up 11.7%, Hyundai sales were up 15.5% and Kia sales were up 21.8%. Stellantis and Toyota worsened by 9.1% and 8.8%, respectively.
The average car loan interest rate reached a 15-year high of 7%, and the average monthly payment for a new car was a record $730.
In 2022, automakers couldn’t meet demand due to a chip shortage and sold only 13.9 million cars. Previously, about 17 million cars were sold in a year. This year, sales will total 14.8 million cars, analyst firm Edmunds predicts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting with a delegation of politicians, businessmen and representatives of United States charities led by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The head of state noted the importance of such visits and meetings, which are a powerful signal of support for Ukrainians in our fight for freedom and democracy, the press service of the Office of the President reported Tuesday.
“I’m glad to see you have come with your friends,” the president said, addressing Mike Pompeo. – Comprehensive American support is very important to us.”
During the meeting, the head of state invited American business to actively invest in Ukraine. “We are open to this, we are ready to provide you with full assistance. It is very important for us,” he said.
Zelensky informed about business development opportunities in construction, agriculture, IT technology, etc. The president also emphasized the importance of continuing and strengthening defense assistance and joint development of defense technologies, taking into account the experience acquired by Ukraine during the war. “Invest in business, because business is what creates jobs. We are interested in people being able to find jobs and the budget getting revenue to strengthen our capabilities on the battlefield,” summarized the head of state.
A number of other topical issues were also discussed, in particular Ukraine’s movement to NATO, the importance of further strengthening the sanctions pressure on Russia. Zelenski noted the activities of American charitable organizations, whose representatives were present at the meeting, focused on helping displaced people, rebuilding destroyed housing stock, providing medical care, and providing drinking water and food.
